Former WTA player and world no. 1, Ana Ivanovic, thinks that Novak Djokovic can still challenge for the 2024 Roland Garros title.
Ivanovic won the major in Paris in 2008, so she's quite familiar with what it takes to win it. Obviously, there are differences between men's and women's tennis, but winning a Grand Slam is the hardest challenge in the sport.
This upcoming Grand Slam will be fascinating because it's so wide open. Several players could win the tournament, and Ivanovic looked at it with Ubitennis.
She noted the parity in tennis in recent months, with Jannik Sinner stepping up to a level that only recently featured Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz.
"There have been a lot of new players in the last few weeks reaching far in the tournaments and beating some top players. So we are going to see many new faces on the men’s side."
The Serbian backed her compatriot Djokovic as the strongest candidate despite his struggles this year. Most recently, he lost to Tomas Machac at the 2024 Geneva Open, which made the worries about his form even louder, especially with such loss only a few days before a major.
In addition to Djokovic, Ivanovic singled out Sinner and Alcaraz as the other top candidates to win the event. Most people agree with her, but there are other players who could go all the way, like Alexander Zverev and Casper Ruud, who are both great clay-court players and had success at the French Open before.
"Of course Novak is still the strongest contestant for the title, but also Alcaraz and Sinner. Novak had a little bit tougher clay court season so far than usual, but I think he is for sure peaking his full form for the French Open."
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